The Birds

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Cast: Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette, Jessica Tandy

Genre: Horror, thriller

Year: 1963

Renowned as another Hitchcock classic, 'The Birds' follows the story of Melanie Daniels, who, alongside all other residents of Bodega Bay, is confronted with a series of viciously spontaneous attacks from birds.



'The Birds', by most people's accounts, ranks alongside other Hitchcock classics such as 'Psycho', 'Vertigo' and 'Rear Window'. It is supposedly 'the most terrifying motion picture' he ever made, even Hitchcock claims that. And there is no denying that his masterful directing skills are present throughout this film, seen through his clever use of framing, camerawork, cinematography and even costume design. However, does it really deserve all the praise it gets? Does it truly belong among such classics like 'Psycho' and 'North By Northwest'?

First of all, critical perceptions will have changed over time due to the progression of technology, which is exceptionally more advanced than what Hitchcock was working with in the 60s. It would be rather unfair, in that case, to judge it on its realism or authenticity when it comes to the depiction of birds (which are blatantly fake), because it would be near impossible to stand up to the technological quality modern cinema has reached today; plus it nevertheless would have been the height of technology when it was first released. As with all classic cinema, it is easy to criticise the technical aspects if it were to be compared to today's standards, despite it being occasionally off putting to see the birds being fake at times. However, upon saying this, the shots of all the birds congregating together on several occasions does have a great affect in depicting the scale of how many birds there are.

The fault does not soley lie in its aged technology however; rather the story itself is what makes the film seem tedious. Hitchcock is not shy to spend long periods of time developing Melanie and the Brenner family and although there is an obvious reason for this, it feels almost unnecessary. For the first 45 minutes, barely anything of suspenseful impact occurs - rather it focuses on Melanie's pursuit of her love interest, lawyer Mitch Brenner. However, it seems illogical how quickly their relationship begins to grow, having met the previous day. The pacing seems all over the place, with slow moving narrative, yet a rushed relationship. Even so, the characters feel uninteresting and Melanie and Mitch have little chemistry to begin with. Melanie is depicted as a spoilt, overly rich woman, who almost immediately falls for Mitch as soon as he enters a bird shop she happens to be browsing. A very interesting technique Hitchcock utilises throughout the film is showing Melanie's middle/upper class status in comparison to the working class people of Bodega Bay - note how her clothes stand out amidst all the dirty workers.

This dull start isn't helped by almost pointless, dragging conversations between characters which could have been done relatively faster. 'Psycho', another classic Hitchcock horror, shows how characters and plot can be set up in less than 30 minutes, and they are still both engaging and riveting. In 'The Birds', there are so many subplots being handled that the film struggles to fit them all in - Melanie and Mitch's relationship, Cathy's (Mitch's daughter) friendship with Melanie, the conflict between Melanie and school teacher Annie, who also has feelings for Mitch, the potential threat of mother Lydia to their relationship, and finally the imminent threat of another bird attack. It stretches the film out through so many directions that it becomes frustrating and obnoxious.

Once the dully paced first act is completed, the tension does pick up as the birds become more ominous and more of a danger towards the characters' well-beings. The first major attack is at Cathy's party, where vulnerable children are swept upon by birds, who inflict minor damage to them, but send the adults into slight paranoia. This sequence is good, but it has a complete lack of music - Hitchcock is renowned for his brilliant integration of music into his films - take 'North By Northwest' and 'Psycho' as two prominent examples. Yet here, the attacks, never mind almost the entirety of the film, is without any musical accompaniment. This creates an awkward atmosphere and does show the importance and power music can have on scenes in films.

The rest of the film follows a similar pattern, with long periods of dragged out dialogue, with intervals of somewhat thrilling sequences (which would not have been faulted at the time, but look sadly unrealistic now) which don't feel particularly poignant or memorable. The town does gradually descend into mayhem as the townsfolk realise the threat of the birds. But another thing that taints the film is Hedren's poor acting throughout. She isn't awful, but she is barely plausible and some of her reaction shots to a horrific event are almost comical. In fact, for the vast majority of the attacks, it has humorous undertones to it all, making it hard to take seriously whatsoever. This results in what should have been a terrifying spectacle seem awkward. For the most part, the suspenseful sequences maintain a mediocre quality - not bad special effects, but does not have the same poignancy as the shower scene in 'Psycho' or the crop duster scene in 'North By Northwest' had (note that both these films were made before 'The Birds', so Hitchcock had already proven himself to be a more than competent director.

Ultimately, while this film is not bad, it feels disappointing. It feels like it has been overly celebrated while other Hitchcock films don't share the same limelight that arguably have done better. It still holds that iconic Hitchcock tension which he is known for, but it doesn't  pack as many punches as it could have been capable of. Maybe it was the production limitations of the 1960s (despite Hitchcock proving his competence in previous films) or maybe it was to do with some of his direction in terms of acting, music and pacing. All in all, it feels a rather underwhelming Hitchcock film.

Verdict: 6/10